As we look ahead to the new year, insurance agencies are diving into a fresh set of hiring challenges. It’s more important than ever to attract new talent in sales, service, and leadership. With competition getting steeper by the day, how should your agency tackle these hurdles? Here are some strategies.
1.
Chat with Everyone
•
Make your talent pool bigger by
talking to a variety of professionals.
•
Don’t just look at resumes; people are
more than bullet points.
•
Build genuine connections with
candidates to make future hiring
easier.
It’s tempting to think the insurance world is bursting with candidates, but not everyone is out there looking for a job. That’s why it’s crucial to go beyond the resume. Often, there’s so much more to a person than what’s on paper.
Be careful not to pigeonhole folks based on past experiences or call them “job hoppers.” The insurance industry sees a lot of turnover and mergers, which can lead to job changes that are outside the candidate’s control. Maybe you’ve heard, “Companies don’t let go of good people.” Take it from me. Sometimes they do!
Take the time to connect–whether someone applies directly or is just testing the waters–to set yourself apart from the competition and build a talent pipeline that’s easier to maintain.
2.
Keep Hiring Managers Accountable
•
Make sure hiring managers get the
training they need and stick to
companywide best practices.
•
Invest time and resources in the hiring
process, even when things get busy, to
ensure candidates remain engaged in
your process.
Hiring best practices seem to be something every agency strives for; however, I find they don’t always get put into action.
Agencies that struggle with recruiting often fail to hold hiring managers accountable. Recruitment is simple: Time + Resources = Results. The more you invest, the better your outcomes. Often, time is the biggest hurdle, with hiring managers not always sticking to the process when other more pressing issues arise.
For your hiring process to go smoothly, get everyone involved–from HR to divisional leaders–to create a plan that defines the goals, objectives, and expectations of the hiring team. This way no one individual can hold up or adversely impact the process.
3.
Tailor Your Approach by Position
•
Don’t use a one-size-fits-all method;
customize your recruitment for each
role.
•
Create specific plans for different
positions, especially for openings that
require a highly specialized skill set or
accelerated timeframe.
A blanket approach to recruiting just doesn’t work. Unique roles need different strategies. Instead of hoping a single process will find the perfect candidate, have a special plan for unique roles right from the start. This is especially true for agency client service roles, which are becoming increasingly more specialized based on the book of business, account size, location, and responsibilities required between consulting and marketing.
For roles like account executive, marketing, analytics, and management, it’s more important than ever to conduct passive candidate recruiting, nurture a candidate pipeline, and bring an external recruiter on board early. Insurance service candidates come on and off the market faster than any other type of job seeker, which makes timing, accessibility, and competitive compensation key components of recruiting success.
Topics Talent
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